[Note: this article was written before the airing of the March 8th episode. If the episode tonight is suddenly extremely awesome, this post may be moot. ...But I doubt it]

Glee, you broke my heart.

In the beginning, you made me happy.  In the beginning, you made me believe that TV was entering a new realm of sophistication and creativity.  Now?  You just mostly make me sad.  And also a little annoyed.

When you first premiered, Glee, I was one of your biggest fans.  As someone who spent two years of her life learning the art of musical theater, I continuously advocated for music and drama to combine on the small screen – it was uncharted territory (okay, not completely, but I think we all want to forget that strange, strange LSD trip that was Cop Rock), territory that had the possibility of reaching millions of people and providing them with an emotional release the way that only music and lyrics can.  When you came along, Glee, I finally felt like my prayers had been answered.  Not only were you hilarious and fresh, you were also keenly aware of how a well-placed song could move people.

But then…something started to happen.  You got…less fresh.  Sure, there were – and still are – moments of wip-smart humor, but you also started to come down with a case of cliche-itis.  Your drama began to veer down Cheesy Lane and your songs began to feel awkward – and you didn’t seem to care. Read more »

The 2009 Oddest Book Title prize has drawn a record number of submissions, including the gem at left.

Fuck Yeah NYRB Classics!! Via The Millions.

American Psycho…the musical!

One poem, translated 31 ways. Via Silliman’s Blog.

What would your favorite TV characters read?

Choose your own literary elite nickname. Mine is ‘Helpless Drunken Cobra.’

Is Shoplifting from American Apparel the new Catcher in the Rye?

Our pals at Awkward Press (publishers of the very enjoyable Awkward One) are currently accepting submissions for their upcoming issue Awkward Two. Details here.

Aaaaand because we love you: Read more »

Have zombies taught us nothing? Resurrection is just… never a good idea (unless of course you’re that guy whose resurrection resulted in the celebration of Easter).

Case in point: the musical television drama.  If you didn’t know such a genre existed, it’s for good reason – these shows have incredibly short life spans and it really takes a very special person to stomach a single episode.  In fact, I had pushed everything I’ve viewed of this genre into the same dark little closet in my brain that I keep bad break-ups and embarrassing moments.  It wasn’t until a recent conversation I had with Julia that I remembered such a genre existed.  Julia has quite a taste for the cop show genre.  She (like many others these days) is also really into Glee, Fox network’s musical comedy.  As a business school alumna, Julia understands the value of her time and doing things efficiently, thus pitched the idea of a musical cop drama so she and others with similar taste could save time by watching these two genres in one place.  To her shock/horror/dismay/amusement, I told her that like most things in TV – it’s been done before.

Cop Rock.  Yes, Cop Rock. If you’ve never heard of it before – it’s exactly what the title suggests.  Hailed as one of the worst television shows of all time, Cop Rock’s greenlight continues to baffle us nearly two decades later (unless of course, you’re Peter Bowker and erroneously thought resurrecting the genre with Hugh Jackman may mean a better shot at success).

When Julia and I parted ways that night, we left the conversation with a lot of unanswered questions.  Below is our iChat transcript of our attempt to wrap our minds around the existence of Cop Rock (with embedded videos for your viewing pleasure) and if or how this genre could succeed today: Read more »

Some lawyers have canceled a Harry Potter-themed dinner for children. Then, they kicked a puppy.

Tom Cruise has been revealed as the inspiration for Christian Bale’s performance in American Psycho. I feel vaguely unsurprised.

Walt Whitman in a Levi’s commercial. Wait, what?

A research associate at NYU has procured funding to rewrite Melville’s Moby Dick entirely in emoticons.

If you liked bad poetry, here are some awful opening sentences from a bad fiction writing contest. Also, if you’re interested in writing some bad fiction of your own, some tips include using as many adjectives as you can, describing every character in minute detail, taking no account of narrative pacing, and more.

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